The Feb. 6 National Signing Day for football is a less than a week away, and it’s the first day recruits can ink letters of intent. It’s also the day when every fan dreams big while studying the list of players their school signed and wondering which players will be stars and which ones might be busts. But, honestly, they all look like studs on Signing Day, right? As a primer for the Signing Day frenzy, here’s a look at the top three priorities for each Big Ten team. Be sure to check out my list of football names who have

For some players, it’s all about getting a jump on the college experience in hopes of getting a jump on winning a job. That’s why players enroll in college early. In all, the Big Ten has 42 early arrivals, with 10 coming from the junior-college ranks. Illinois paced all Big Ten schools with 10 early enrollees. That’s almost half of the 24 verbal commitments that the Fighting Illini have received in the 2013 signing class, which begin inking letters of intent on Feb. 6. Michigan has six early enrollees; Penn State and Ohio State have five; Indiana, Nebraska and Purdue

BTN has confirmed that new Purdue coach Darrell Hazell has made the final big hire of his first Boilermakers staff, tabbing John Shoop as offensive coordinator. Shoop has an impressive background, coaching in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers from 1995-98, the Chicago Bears from 1999-2003, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004 and the Oakland Raiders from 2005-06. Shoop was offensive coordinator for the Bears, while also coaching quarterbacks in Chicago as well as in Carolina, Tampa Bay and Oakland. Shoop, 43, joined the college ranks in 2007, when he became offensive coordinator for Butch Davis at North Carolina until

Day 2 of Senior Bowl practice is in the books, and BTN host Rick Pizzo and BTN NFL Draft expert Russ Lande have the latest updates from Mobile, Ala. For starters, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year John Simon was a no-show Tuesday, this after practicing with the linebackers Monday. Also, our guys talk about Kawann Short’s prospects and Hugh Thornton’s improving stock.

Purdue announced the official hirings of six assistants for new coach Darrell Hazell’s staff. Defensive coordinator Greg Hudson; offensive line coach Jim Bollman; linebackers coach Marcus Freeman; cornerbacks coach Jon Heacock; receivers coach Kevin Sherman; running backs coach Jafar Williams. It’s a nice blend of youth and experience, giving Hazell a good base to build from. Freeman, Heacock and Williams worked for Hazell at Kent State. Bollman comes from Boston College but worked with Hazell at Ohio State as offensive coordinator under Jim Tressel. Sherman was at Virginia Tech. Hudson was at Florida State and has no direct ties to Hazell.

The final punctuation mark has been put on the 2012 season and we closed that latest chapter. Now, we turn the page and look toward 2013. Before you know it, spring football will be here. In anticipation of the fall of 2013, here’s my early, early—and I mean EARLY—look at how the Big Ten could stack up from 1-12. 1. Ohio State. The Buckeyes welcome back lots of talent from a team that went 12-0 in Urban Meyer’s debut. What can Meyer do for an encore? Most of the talent is on offense. And the schedule is very manageable. Bottom

Sunday night’s GoDaddy.com Bowl marked new Purdue coach Darrell Hazell’s final day on the job at Kent State. Here’s to guessing college football fans won’t soon forget it. Interestingly, it had nothing to do with the close 17-13 decision. No, it had everything to do with Kent State’s head-turning helmets. [ RELATED: Catch up on all the 2012-13 bowls ] The Golden Flashes debuted a solid yellow lid, complete with a set of eagle eyes on the front, located just above the players’ eyes. The helmet also featured the school’s “K” prominently on the back. However, it was the eagle

Clint Chelf threw three of Oklahoma State’s five touchdown passes and the Cowboys shook off a disappointing Big 12 finish by dominating Purdue 58-14 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl on Tuesday. The Cowboys, a year removed from a Fiesta Bowl win that capped the best season in school history, forced five turnovers and had another short touchdown drive after a 64-yard punt return from Josh Stewart. Get the AP recap, video and Tom Dienhart’s Snap Reactions in this post. The rout was Oklahoma State’s biggest bowl win since coach Mike Gundy was the quarterback in a 62-14 rout of

Purdue will arrive in Dallas without head coach Danny Hope, who was fired after four seasons despite guiding the Boilermakers to a second bowl in succession. This is a chance to punctuate a second consecutive season with a bowl win, which hasn’t happened since winning back-to-back Alamo Bowls in 1997-98. And the Boilermakers arrive with some momentum, having won three in a row. Sunday at 7 p.m. ET Watch the one-hour “BTN Football Report: Bowl Preview” on BTN TV and BTN2Go as our analysts look at the five New Year’s Day bowl games involving Big Ten teams. Conversely, Oklahoma State